Jeremy Lin: “I was Supposed to Save Houston Basketball”

“Linsanity” was the best and worst thing that could’ve happened to Jeremy Lin.

When Lin took the basketball world by storm two seasons ago while playing for the New York Knicks, it was supposed to be the beginning of something special for the California native, but after signing a lucrative deal with the Houston Rockets last year, he found it difficult to recapture that same magic.

“I was ready to invigorate the entire city of Houston. I was supposed to save Houston basketball.”

“I became so obsessed with becoming a great basketball player … trying to be Linsanity, being this phenomenon that took the NBA by storm,” Lin told the audience. “The coaches were losing faith in me, basketball fans were making fun of me.”

Lin says that he’s more at peace now, thanks to his faith in God.

“We are God’s beloved children, and there is nothing you can do to reduce God’s love for you,” he said. “When you do, you’ll be free.”

Lin has learned what so many others who have attained fame know, the same people who lift you up, will be the same people that will attempt to tear you down.

I expect him to have a more productive season now that “Linsanity” is two years removed, and the pressure to be something he isn’t will be off with the arrival of Dwight Howard.